Morocco Beat Portugal to Make World Cup History
Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup after beating Portugal at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The North African side grabbed the winning goal just before the break when Youssef En-Nesyri headed in from Yahya Attiyat-Allah’s cross.
Midfielder Sofyan Amrabat said, “It’s really, really, really unbelievable.”
“I’m so proud. We deserve this 1000 percent. That’s just how we fight and how play, with our heart, for our country and for our people.
We had some injuries and to have three defenders go in and defend like that, big respect. Big respect for everybody – for the fans, for the coach, for everyone.”
En-Nesyri’s historic strike for the injury-hit Atlas Lions with a superb first-half header continued the team’s fairy-tale run – which has seen them beat Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.
The North African team conceded just one own goal in five World Cup matches – setting up a semi-final clash with the winner of England and France’s quarter-final.
Key stat
Morocco had come the fourth African nation to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, following in the footsteps of Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002), and Ghana (2010).
No one from the African side, however, had ever made it to the last four – until now!
FIFA’s Player of the match
Yassine Bounou (Morocco)
Next-up
Morocco moves into the World Cup semi-final and will go on to play France on Wednesday at 7 pm at the Al Bayt stadium. Should the North African side win that, the World Cup final takes place on Sunday, December 18, 2022.
